Film Recommendations: Sanada-san stars in my favorite samurai film The Twilight Samurai (2002). This film has only two fight scenes (one short and one long), but they are both jaw-dropping in their seemingly effortless choreography and will have you on the edge of your seat!

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Disclaimer: I do not own this image!!

Kou Shibasaki (柴咲コウ)

Best known for in the U.S.: Mitsuko Soumain Battle Royale (2000); she was slated to play Gogo Yubari’s twin sister Yuki in Kill Bill, but dropped out due to other commitments.

Notable Accolades: She won a Japanese Academy Award for her performance in Go (2001).

Why is she awesome?: She starred in the first Japanese television drama I ever watched called Orange Days (2004) in which she played a deaf character, performing all her lines in Japanese sign language. Plus, she’s an adorable pop singer (“KISS Shite” by KOH+).

Film Recommendations: Shibasaki-san stars alongside Joe Odagiri in one of my favorite Japanese films called La Maison de Himiko (2005) about a young woman who is asked by her dying father’s young male lover to work in her father’s nursing home for gay men.

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Disclaimer: I do not own this image!!

Rinko Kikuchi (菊地凛子)

Best known for in the U.S.: Mako Mori in Pacific Rim (2013).

Notable Accolades: She was nominated for an Academy Award for her performance in Babel (2006).

Wh is she awesome?: She’s the first Japanese actress in 50 years to be nominated for an Oscar! Plus, she’s appeared in a number of films with Tadanobu Asano (see below) including his directorial debut Tori (2003).

Why is he awesome?: Asano-san is a chameleon, changing drastically from role to role, appearing in every genre, taking on exceptionally unique characters. His friend and world-renown cinematographer (who has worked with such talents as Michael Caine, Kenneth Branagh, Tilda Swinton, Colin Farrell, and Ralph Fiennes [another of my all-time favorite actors]) Christopher Doyle believes that “Tadanobu Asano is probably the best actor in the world today.”

Some of these film recommendations might be hard to find outside of Japan. If you’re having trouble finding a title and really want to watch it, message me at gegallas@hotmail.com and I’ll see if I can help! :)

Also, for those of you who go see 47 Ronin, leave a comment here and let me know what you think!

And thank you so much to Annamita Virosa (annamitavirosa.wordpress.com) for nominating me a fifth time for this award! Check our Annamita’s awesome doodles and dream memories.

To view the post from my first and second nominations, click here, here, and here.

I’d like to apologize in advanced for my answers to David and Annamita’s questions — I found a number of these queries a bit confusing. But I tried to answer to the best of my ability!

As I mentioned previously, I continue to accept these awards because I love being able to share/promote other talented WordPress bloggers by nominating them. So please take a look at the list of nominations below!!

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Rules

Post eleven facts about yourself.

Answer the questions the tagger has set for you and create eleven questions for people you’ve nominated.

Choose eleven people to give this award to and link them in your post.

Go to their page and tell them.

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Instead of eleven facts about myself…

Some of My Favorite Japanese Words

めちゃくちゃ, mechakucha: absurd, nonsensical, incoherent.

奪う, ubau: to snatch away, to steal.

見失う, miushinau: to lose sight of, to miss.

罰, batsu: punishment, penalty.

はしゃぐ, hashagu: to make merry, to frolic.

飛び立つ, tobitatsu: to fly away, to take off, to leap to one’s feet.

吐き出す, hakidasu: to spit out.

叫ぶ, sakebu: to shout, to cry out, to yell.

降り注ぐ, furisosogu: to rain incessantly, to downpour.

山椒魚, sanshouuo: salamandar

鹿煎餅, shikasenbei: rice crackers for feeding deer (in Nara).

理事長, rijichou: board chairman.

伯爵, hakushaku: count, earl.

恐ろしい, osoroshii: terrible, dreadful, frightening.

戸惑い, tomadoi: losing one’s bearings, confusion, wonderment.

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David’s Questions

1. What encouraged you to start blogging (honestly)?

I wanted to share my work with the world. :)

2. Heart broken or never touched. Would you rather risk it all for love or not at all?

Spoke with my high school friend Tina L. about SPX (Small Press Expo) in Maryland. We (Tina, some of her friends, and I) are going to try to get a table there this September! Also, Tina may share a table with me for this year’s APE!

Wednesday, February 20th

Zest Books Internship, Day #7: Super busy with some editing/fact-checking work! Also, sat in on a Teen Advisory Board meeting, which was interesting. Going in again tomorrow instead of Friday to sit in on a meeting and meet a tight deadline!

Thursday, February 21st

Sent Hannah some follow-up answers.

Zest Books Internship, Day #8: Came in Thursday instead of Friday. Managed to complete a big project before the deadline. Finally met Dan in person (had only talked on phone before). Going to help Hallie with a photoshop project on Wednesday. Busy, busy, busy!

First skype meeting with film director Josh! He’s interested in my short script The Man Who Never Smiled. Soon, he’ll be scouting locations and creating a shot list. Wants me to write detailed notes about the script and eventually create a simple storyboard. Set filming date for July. Extremely excited!!!

Passover trip — had Passover and stayed overnight at cousin’s house outside of Sacramento. Would be perfect location for filming Death Is No Bad Friend.

Received e-mail from local production company. Interview scheduled for April 11th!

Tuesday, March 26th

Return drive from Passover trip.

Wednesday, March 27th

Zest Books Internship, Day #16: Worked on image research and fact checking! Fact checking is definitely one of my strong suits — I have so much random knowledge stuffed away in my brain that I can immediately sense when something is off. :)

Beautiful but deadly pollen!

Thursday, March 28th

Interview with potential job unsuccessful, but that’s fine by me. Looking forward to next interview on the 11th!

Thank you so much to Don Hoang Nguyen (nguyeningit.wordpress.com) for nominating me a third time for the Liebster Award! Don’t forget to check out Don Hoang’s quirky illustrations and comics.

To view the post from my first and second nominations, click here and here.

As I mentioned yesterday,I continue to accept these awards because I love being able to share/promote other talented WordPress bloggers by nominating them. So please take a look at the list of nominations below!!

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Rules

Post eleven facts about yourself.

Answer the questions the tagger has set for you and create eleven questions for people you’ve nominated.

Choose eleven people to give this award to and link them in your post.

I’d like to thank Clare (dawndancers.com) very very very much for nominating me for The Very Inspiring Blogger Award! This is my third time being nominated for this award, and it’s wonderful to know how much others seems to appreciate my blog. :)

Truthfully, I continue to accept these awards because I love being able to share/promote other talented WordPress bloggers by nominating them. So please take a look at the list of nominations below!!

1. Display the award logo on your blog.
2. Link back to the person who nominated you.
3. State 7 things about yourself.
4. Nominate 15 other bloggers for this award and link to them.
5. Notify those bloggers of the nomination and the award’s requirements.

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Seven Things About G. E. Gallas

I think you’ll learn more than enough about me through the other award posts I’ve made!

Two Storiesis an autobiographical graphic novel that deals with themes of “…life, love, loss, and depression.” As far as I can tell, the novel will consist of a series of short stories that are all autobiographical, but will be presented in various styles, tones, and genres (“serious to silly”).

Not only are Josh’s illustrations absolutely stunning, full of texture and movement, but his storytelling is powerful and compelling. For this first chapter, it is not just a story of attempted suicide, but more astonishingly a step-by-step examination of the protagonist/author’s thought process — a complex mind that makes connections (from Shakespeare to It’s A Wonderful Life and back to reality) and plays tricks on itself (“The Suicide Game” on page 4).